SAN JOSE, Calif., and REDMOND, Wash., July 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The City of San Jose has selected Microsoft Office 365, Windows Azure and StorSimple to expand productivity of its more than 5,000 city employees, reduce operational costs, and deliver improved services to over 984,000 residents in the Capital of Silicon Valley.

"The combination of these services supports both our long-term technology strategy and the immediate needs of our employees and residents," said Vijay Sammeta, San Jose chief information officer. "We turned to Office 365 for secured cloud manageability, which in turn will help us lower our total cost of ownership and support a more mobile and connected workforce of the future. The combination of Windows Azure and StorSimple will enable us to streamline storage infrastructure support, which enables our people to make the shift from basic backend operations to citizen engagement and service delivery."

Michael Donlan, Vice President of State and Local Government, Microsoft adds: "Ensuring the productivity of employees is critical when state and local governments are constantly being asked to do more with less. Microsoft's cloud technologies not only support better collaboration and enhanced productivity, but also afford cities like San José the opportunity to do so in an environment that meets the security and privacy needs that our U.S. government customers require."

The investment in new platforms was approved in the recent adoption of the annual city budget in June by the San Jose City Council.

"San Jose employees will have constant and consistent access to documents, email and information through the cloud, enabling them to do their job in a secured environment not restricted by their location," said Sammeta. "In addition, employees also will be able to collaborate with each other in real time, improving efficiency and productivity, which will ultimately benefit the community at large."

Sammeta cited the specific benefits of Office 365 that include:

Universal access to data virtually anytime, anyplace, and on virtually any platform

Capability for mobile communications and remote collaboration, including videoconferencing

Consolidation of "big data" into a single platform

Improved data visualization tools

Seamless integration with third-party applications

Automatic software updates, lowering support and management costs

Easy staff adaptation to cloud-based platform

"Instead of purchasing different products for various business needs that may or may not integrate with one another, Office 365 provides us with a complete solution that works both for today's needs and offers flexibility for addressing tomorrow's," Sammeta said. "By making this investment in technology, our staff will have up-to-date, enterprise-class cloud productivity tools, allowing us to catch up several product generations at once."

As part of the overarching goal to expand productivity while enhancing citizen services, Sammeta and his staff recognized that streamlining backend IT operations would be key to maximizing the city's investment and expected return.

By choosing Microsoft's hybrid cloud storage solution of Windows Azure and StorSimple to support their unique compliance and backup requirements, the city's selection of Microsoft's enterprise cloud services ensures that San Jose IT employees can spend their time where it matters most.

"It comes down to the question of how we focus and leverage the talent of our employees," said Sammeta. "Do we work on activities that don't help us provide value directly to residents, or can we concentrate on where we can achieve real impact?

"Because of the cloud, we now have the opportunity to transform our IT business model so that we no longer have to deal with servers and storage, and instead our employees can take advantage of new tools and efficiency to benefit our broader community."

Sammeta cited the specific benefits of Windows Azure and StorSimple that include:

Major reduction in total costs for more than 70 TB of data

One enterprise cloud solution across the city's storage needs

Seamless integration of cloud storage with local storage infrastructure

Simplified processes for backup, restores and disaster recovery

Minimal staff time required for backup and offsite cloud storage

The city's transition to Microsoft's enterprise cloud platform will begin this summer, and implementation throughout the organization is expected to take approximately six months.

"If you're going to have a cloud strategy, you need to take a holistic look at your workloads," Sammeta said. "We know we are only starting to scratch the surface of the benefits to come, which likely will be more than just cost savings for IT. I'm looking forward to opening the door to greater collaboration and removing technology obstacles to our ability to innovate."

Known as the Capital of Silicon Valley, San Jose is the nation's tenth largest city and the largest city in Northern California with an ethnically diverse population of 984,000. San Jose was founded in 1777, once served as the state capital of California, and now encompasses 180 square miles. The City's website is www.sanjoseca.gov. Facts about San Jose can be found here: http://www.sanjoseca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/780.

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